Hospital stay, Gallbladder removal, Liver problems

Wow, it was an eventful time recently. Denise complained of severe chest pain. Fearing problems from her compromised cardiac status, we took her to emergency early one morning and she was admitted to Methodist Hospital in Arcadia. It turns out that she probably had gallstones, so they wanted to remove her gallbladder. But there were some initial concerns about her liver function and her ability to tolerate the surgery (i.e. would her heart give out?). Fortunately, those concerns were short-lived and after a few days her systems were ready to cooperate and the surgery went very well. They even threw in a hernia repair as a bonus. I think it's because she has so much clout as a "preferred customer" at that hospital. Denise is adjusting to which foods are and are not good for life without a gallbladder, but seems to be doing well.
Not that there's a good time to do all of that, but I'm glad that this happened while it did. School was out so I was off work for the summer. We weren't on vacation somewhere. Friends stepped in to take the kids. My favorite aspect was seeing some of Denise's doctors & nurses from her stay here in 2005. She was treated like a queen. For several people that stopped by to visit, it was the first time they heard Denise talk (or had seen her out of a coma, for that matter). For most, the last time they saw her, she was on the verge of death. How wonderful it was to see her & some her care team able to talk about the ordeal as though it were a distant, foggy memory!